Small Animals of B.C

Pika

• Body length: 15-23cm
• Weight 120-350g
• After eating they create soft green feces, then they eat it to regain nutrition.
• They live in cold climates on rocky mountain sides.

Enemies, Habitat and Food

• They're Herbivores who eat a variety of plants, from forbs and grasses, to moss and lichen.
• Pika's create a "hay pile" of vegetation when surviving the winters.
• Enemies: coyotes, hawks, eagles, martins, and weasels.

Marmot

• Body length: 19-23in
• Weight 3.5 - 11lb.
• Location: Rocky Mountains , cascades, black hills, and pacific ranges.

Enemies, Habitat and Food

• Food: Grasses, lichen, mosses, berries, roots, and flowers
• Habitat: burrows (sometimes in rock piles), usually around forests and grassy pastures.
• Enemies: Foxes, coyotes, bobcats, eagles, hawks, owls, and humans.

Otter

• Body length: 0.6 - 1.8m
• Weight: 1 - 45kg
• Long, slim bodies and short limbs with webbed paws.
• Active hunters, chasing their prey in the water

Enemies, Habitat and Food

• Food: A variety of fish and shellfish, also some small land mammals and birds.
• Habitat: In cold waters, alongside the Pacific coast of North America.
• Enemies: humans, bears, sharks eagles (on pups), and killer whales

Badger

• Body length: around 90cm in length including the tail
• Weight: 9.1–11 kg
• can run or gallop at 25–30 km/h (16–19 mph) in short bursts.
• Badgers are nocturnal.

Enemies, Habitat and Food

• Food: earthworms, insects, grubs, and the eggs of birds.
• Habitat: All lived in burrows called setts underground. Some move from home to home, while others are known to form clans in sizes of 2-15.
• Enemies: Young cubs can be taken by foxes, wolves, lynx, wolverines, or by golden eagles or buzzards.

Wolverine

• Body length: 65–107cm
• Weight: 9–25 kg
• Lives in the Northern boreal forests, subarctic, and alpine tundra of the Northern Hemisphere
• a stocky and muscular carnivore, more closely resembling a small bear

Enemies, Habitat and Food

• A powerful predator and scavenger
• Prey: porcupines, squirrels, beavers, rabbits, mice, caribou, roe deer, moose, and elk.

Porcupine

• Body length: 25–36 in
• Weight: 12–35 lb
• Their coat of sharp spines, or quills, protect them against predators.
• They live in wooded areas and can climb up trees, sometimes spending the rest of their life there.

Enemies, Habitat and Food

• Porcupines Herbivores who eat leaves, herbs, twigs and green plants like clover. In the winter they can eat bark. It often climbs trees to find food.
• Habitat: They live in deserts, forests, rocky outcrops and hillsides.
• Enemies: coyotes, bobcats, and humans.

Muskrat

• Body length: 40 – 70 cm (Adult)
• Weight 0.6 – 2 kg (Adult)
• They live in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habitats.
• Muskrats spend much of their time in the water and are well suited for their partially aquatic life.

Enemies, Habitat and Food

• Muskrats eat sedges, water lilies, pondweeds, switchgrass, mussels, crayfish, frogs, snails, and fish.
• Habitat: marshes, or alongside ponds, lakes, rivers, and streams. Muskrats build their home, called a lodge, out of aquatic plants
• Enemies: mink, foxes, coyotes, wolves, lynx, bears, eagles, snakes, alligators, and large owls and hawks

Beaver

• Body length: 20 – 35 cm
• Weight 18-20kg
• Mainly a nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent.
• Beavers create dams which are used as a protection against predators, such as coyotes, wolves and bears, and to provide easy access to food during winter.

Enemies, Habitat and Food

• Food: stems, bark, and leaves.
• Beavers create food caches in the Fall to eat in the winter months.
• Enemies: wolves, coyotes, mountain lions and black bears. Other would be foxes, wolverines, lynx, bobcats and alligators.

Chickaree

• Body length: 33cm
• Weight 150-300g
• Chikaree's (or Douglas squirrels) live in coniferous forest habitats.
• Their fur is a grayish brown on their backs, and pale orange on the chest and belly, while legs and feet are brown.

Enemies, Habitat and Food

• Food: acorns, berries, mushrooms, the eggs of birds, and some fruit including strawberries and plums.
• Chickarees bury pine cones they get from the trees during the autumn.
• Enemies: badgers, bobcats, coyotes, eagles, falcons, foxes, hawks, lynx, owls, pine martins, raccoon, snakes, weasels, wolverines, and humans.

Opossum

• Body length: 2.5 ft
• Weight: 8.8 to 13.2 lb
• Long snouts, a narrow head, and a prominent sagittal crest.
• Babies immediately crawl into the mother's pouch after birth, where they continue to develop.

Enemies, Habitat and Food

• They are omnivores.
• They will hunt mice, birds, insects, worms, snakes, and even chickens.
• Enemies: large owls, fox, coyotes, wolves, and bobcats.

Thanks for Watching!